Dark Talion
This article contains major spoilers for Middle-earth: Shadow of War. If you have not yet completed "The Bright Lord" in the game and don't want to be spoiled of the game's ending, it's best to avoid this page until you complete the aforementioned mission. 'The Dark Ranger' Dark Talion is the skin you unlock for Talion during the final mission of the Shadow of War storyline. While Talion plays the same way as he did with Celebrimbor, he obtains a new skill, new armor, new weapons, a new wraith and a new Ring of Power. For instance, because Celebrimbor is gone, Talion has a new green wraith form of himself, and while the Wraith-World is the same, Talion does not speak the names of Uruk or Olog captains he identifies, and he talks to himself much less, seeing as there's really no one to talk to. 'Isildur's Ring' During The Bright Lord, Talion, Celebrimbor and Eltariel stand at the bridge leading to Sauron's fortress of Barad-dûr, leading their gathered Orc army to challenge and at last battle Sauron himself. They challenge several of the Warchiefs Sauron sends, and by the choices of the player they dominate or kill them all. When they've been defeated, Isildur, who was revealed to be a Ringwraith in the ruins of Gorgoroth, arrives at the bridge, and he and Talion battle. When their battle ends, Talion and Celebrimbor look into his memory. They see Isildur in the Battle of the Last Alliance, on his knees before Sauron. As Sauron, in his cocky triumph, reaches down to strangle Isildur, Isildur sees the shattered blade Narsil, previously belonging to his father, Elendil. He grabs the blade and with the hilt-end cuts off several of Sauron's fingers, one of which is the one that wears the One Ring. We see a shot of the Ring landing on the ground, and Isildur picks it up. The memory jumps to Isildur sitting on the throne of Gondor, admiring the Ring. He slowly slips it onto his finger, slowly entering the Wraith-World, invisible to the eyes of all but Sauron, whose power is diminished. Isildur stands up, eyes still on the Ring, and declares "I am the Lord of the Ring." An image of a flaming eye appears behind him, and the memory transitions to the River Anduin. Isildur is seen chopping through the Orcs that attack him, and as he flees, outnumbered, the Ring flies off his finger. He's shot in the back and the Ring drops into the water. The next memory transition leads to Orcs carrying Isildur's body along on a wooden table, until eventually they reach the Dark Lord himself. Sauron takes the one remaining Ring of Power he has left in a shadow of his physical form, and he puts the Ring on Isildur's body's finger. Isildur springs back to life, his eyes glowing orange. This is his backstory into becoming a Nazgûl. When the backstory sequence ends, Celebrimbor eyes Isildur curiously, before quietly declaring "You are mine." The Ring on Isildur's finger slides off, and before they brand him, Talion stabs and kills Isildur, who was drained of Sauron's power. After an argument between the three of them, Celebrimbor restates something that was said by the Tower of Sauron in Shadow of Mordor: "You are merely a vessel." Celebrimbor abandons Talion and bonds with Eltariel, who takes the New Ring of Power into her own possession. Talion is left to die, but when Shelob talks to him through the Wraith-World and reassures him, Talion uses the last bit of his strength to pick up Isildur's Ring and put it on his finger, declaring "As long as I have breath in my body, my fate is my own." 'Talion's Loadout' Talion gains both a new skill-tree and physical appearance while wearing Isildur's Ring. Most noticeably is his outward appearance; his skin is now pale and drained of color, save for black veins surrounding his eyes. His eyes glow orange, and he now wears a hood. His armor and weaponry are also considerably upgraded and now called the Ringwraith legendary gear set, which includes the following: Servant's Armor - Talion's default armor is upgraded to look more sinister and dark. The Gondorian emblem on his original armor is gone, and any trace of color other than black and dark, stained gold is gone. He has three spikes on each bracer, wears Isildur's Ring over gloves, and boots seemingly connected to his chest plate. This armor is automatically acquired upon reaching the siege of Minas Morgul, and can be upgraded. Dark Embrace - Talion's default cloak, Ioreth's Embrace, is upgraded to look darker in color and tattered. It also now has a hood and reaches down nearly to Talion's ankles. Its Gondorian emblem is also gone, and rather than a solid black shade it has become deep, pale purple. This cloak is acquired automatically upon reaching the siege of Minas Morgul, and it can be upgraded. Urfael - Talion's default sword (which originally shared the design of the Ranger's Sword) is upgraded to look more intimidating (now sharing the design of the Sword of Horrors). It has a hilt wrapped in blue cloth, a golden pommel and guard, and a more straight design to the blade. Oddly, in the cinematic scenes between gameplay during the siege of Minas Morgul, Urfael and Talion's dagger, Acharn, appear the way they always have. The Ringwraith form of Urfael is acquired automatically upon the defeat of Helm Hammerhand in Seregost (mission Fire and Ice), and it can be upgraded after the siege of Minas Morgul. Acharn - Talion's son's broken sword, Acharn, gains the appearance of an actual dagger now, sharing the design of the Dagger of Horrors before upgrading. It has a bronze pommel and guard, a thin, straight blade and a black-wrapped hilt. There are still noticeable flaws in the blade, however, such as scratches and what seem to be a few broken portions of the edges of the blade. This could just be attention to detail, or it could be a further parallel to Acharn's past as a broken sword rather than an actual dagger. This dagger is automatically acquired upon defeating Helm Hammerhand, and it can be upgraded after the siege of Minas Morgul. Helm's Hammer - A ranged Wraith-weapon that takes the form of throwing-hammers rather than a bow. The hammer seems to be made of iron, with a leather-wrapped pommel and an iron head with four spikes on the front in addition to the pick side. The hammer is a weapon belonging to Helm Hammerhand, and so it's acquired after Hammerhand's defeat in Seregost. It can be upgraded upon completion of the siege of Minas Morgul, and unlike other Ringwraith gear, Helm's Hammer does not replace anything in Talion's arsenal. Isildur's Ring - The Ring of Power Talion wears when Celebrimbor and Eltariel betray him and take the New Ring from him. The ring, like Celebrimbor, banishes Talion from death, which helps him keep Sauron's armies within Mordor for decades before he inevitably succumbs to Sauron's power and becomes a Nazgûl. Isildur's Ring functions mostly the same as a rune, granting 182 total Focus. If Talion equips a different rune to his Ring, it will only change the amount of Focus he has; the Ring's appearance will remain the same. Turánn - Talion, even though Celebrimbor is gone, gains a green wraith-version of Celebrimbor's Mithril smithing hammer, Turánn. In addition to being the hammer Celebrimbor used to forge the Rings of Power, Turánn becomes a weapon of war. Talion can't use it as an equipped weapon. He throws Turánn at tribal monuments should you destory them, and he also uses it to bash Orcs that have been knocked down (if you attack them without using a ground finisher). The hammer is also a stealth weapon, used occasionally by the the wraith if you perform a stealth chain. Certain throwing hammers you can aquire throughout the game also have similar designs, essentially making Turánn a ranged weapon. Talion's Abilities Isildur's Ring also grants Talion a new ability, which is quite haunting when you remember that Talion was against the use of this power before Isildur and Zog the Eternal's defeats: He can raise the dead. At the siege of Minas Morgul, Talion automatically equips the ability, and when he stands among dead Orcs he's able to raise them from death and effectively brand them, making them fight for him. The Orcs will still wear blue armor, but their brands will now be bright green, as well as the glow of their eyes. The same applies for branded beasts. Talion also raises the dead Gondorians, though we only see this during the siege. He can also raise dead captains and warchiefs, though it can only be done with the Undying Loyalty add-on. Orcs (and Ologs, with a specific add-on) will also be automatically raised from the dead if stealth killed, so if on the fence about stealth killing or stealth dominating, there isn't much of a choice either way. Talion's wraith is green, and thus much looks quite different about his abilities. For instance, if you have the stealth kill wraith-chain, the wraith will be of Talion himself, and the sounds will be more dark and frightening-sounding. When he has a full Might meter, Talion's sword will glow bright green opposed to Celebrimbor's blue. Talion's bow or throwing hammers will be green as well, and the Raise Dead ability is visually essentially a green Wraith Burn, an ability seen in Shadow of Mordor. Other than this, Talion plays the same way as he does when Celebrimbor is still bonded with him. He does still talk in his head, most notably when he fast travels to a Haedir tower, reassuring himself that he must continue his battle, and he will not give up.